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Commercial Real Estate & Business News – March 8, 2013

Here are the news articles you might find interesting today for commercial real estate and business:

Mark-Taylor, Kitchell to team on 590-unit Tempe apartment complex Scottsdale-based luxury apartment developer Mark-Taylor Inc. is teaming up with Phoenix-based Kitchell Development Co. to erect a giant 590-unit multifamily project in Tempe. The project will be located on roughly 30 acres near the southwest corner of Warner Road and Priest Drive. It’s on a block of land that, through a joint-venture deal between Mark-Taylor Capital LLC and Kitchell, was recently purchased in two transactions for a total $11.2 million, according to a statement Thursday from Cassidy Turley’s Phoenix office, which represented the buyers. View article…

Sound Packaging Signs 105,000-SF Lease Sound Packaging, Arizona’s largest independent corrugated manufacturer, has signed a 10-year lease for 105,000 square feet at the Lone Butte Industrial/MTD facility. Sound Packaging signed the lease, with an option to purchase, the building, which offers warehouse space with 10 dock-high doors and 3,000 square feet of office space. The 1970 warehouse at 6725 W. Allison Rd. was once the home of MTD Products…View article…

Roosevelt Point Rises Out of Vacant Lot If you’ve passed through the Arts District recently, you’ve probably seen sleek new structures growing out of the once forlorn empty lot. Residential development continues to be in full swing to meet the ever-increasing housing demand in Downtown Phoenix. Roosevelt Point will be the name of the two latest 150-unit buildings – straddling Roosevelt Row to McKinley Street between 3rd and 4th streets. View article…

New center opens for entrepreneurs at Valley college There’s a new place to start a business in Phoenix. The Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation is having its grand opening Thursday at Gateway Community College. Gateway President Dr. Eugene Giovannini said the center is a business incubator for companies that are just starting up. View article…

Tempe Improv to reopen in April After closing last year, the Tempe Improv will reopen its doors next month. The twist: The club now shares an owner with Stand Up Live, its former competitor. The Improv closed in May amid acrimony, with owner Mark Anderson issuing a press release that blamed Stand Up Live for his dwindling business because the downtown Phoenix club had booked all the top-notch comics. View article…

Lounge Boutique Nail Salon expanding in Scottsdale San Diego-based 20 Lounge Boutique Nail Salon will open its second Scottsdale location in April as part of an ongoing expansion. View article…

Chandler’s Kai restaurant No. 1 in nation for service Kai at Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort in Chandler was ranked the top restaurant in the nation for service, according to OpenTable’s list of Top 100 Best Restaurants for Service. Two other Arizona establishments made the cut. View article…

HOUSING:
Buyers flocking to the housing market The nation’s housing market continues to face a serious problem: short supply. But regardless of how challenging this makes the home-shopping experience, buyers are still flocking to the housing market in droves. View article…

Short sales surge in Phoenix housing market Foreclosures may be taking a nosedive, but metro Phoenix is still one of the hottest spots in the nation to scoop up bargain deals on homes. Short sales in the Phoenix area surged by 43 percent during the last quarter of 2012 versus the same period in 2011, ranking metro Phoenix the 14th best market to buy short sales in the nation, according to an analysis by RealtyTrac. View article…